So is this the major trend in the business?

I'm an illustrator-turned-web design monkey who really wants to make a living as an animator. I've been reading quite a lot of negative things in the industry from this message board about US animators getting laid off and the work being shipped overseas. Is it like this pretty much throughout the US, or just in LA or Phoenix? The web seems to be one way animators might be able to regain some control, however, what happens to the industry when they no longer have new artists being trained by the masters on the job? I witnessed this with the commercial illustration field in the 80's. It used to be that you could find studios where a budding illustrator could apprentice and learn from the older ones. Then all the illustration studios kind of ceased to exist, due to economic/technological trends in the advertising industry. Those illustrators who were well experienced went on to freelance from home or whatever, thus breaking up the "family" mentoring of new talent. After awhile, the commercial illustration industry kind of fell behind, because the new artists wer being taught in the workplace that it was better to use clip art and stock photos, use a photoshop filter here and there and make "computer art" because it's faster and cheaper to produce. Those "artists" were encouraged to never draw or paint anything by hand (without a computer)again. They got lazy, and now the market has less demand for any "traditional" illustration, because it is no longer being promoted or supported.

Prices for illustration failed to keep up with the cost of living, and in general, the entire industry has been cheapened as a result.

So what's the scoop on this animation industry, is it another case of a vanishing species of American dinosaur that I've managed to miss out on, or does this type of thing cycle, and will animation be a strong career to be in in the next five years?